The Master
by The Never Minder
Summary: Pokémon Trainer is dragged, kicking and screaming, into his role as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. universe. Not a humor fic.


He stood motionlessly with his back facing the front of the cavern, as he had done for days and nights except in the rare instances when he required food or sleep. He had traveled enough. Now was the time when he could be still, and wait for a challenger to arrive. This happened on very rare occasions, all of which had ended similarly.

"_You are the master_."

The Pokémon Trainer simply nodded at the sudden noise, scanning the room for any sign of the speaker. There was none, but one did not complete a pokémon journey and win eight badges by showing fear in the face of disembodied voices. The dead Marowak in the tower flashed momentarily through his mind, and he remembered seeing Misdreavous in the area outside.

_"I am not what you expect,"_ came the voice again. The Pokémon Trainer tensed as something began to form directly across from him on the elevated platform, where he had stood unopposed for the better part of three years. The intangible white light began to take shape and he instinctively reached for the first pokéball at his belt.

A Hand appeared in the wake of the light, a massive Hand that made the Pokémon Trainer recoil in shock. His arm moved past the first pokéball—he could not, would not risk the beloved Pikachu—and he released the Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard. The three titans stood on edge, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.

The Hand, the thing seemed to laugh in the face of his strongest fighters, lunging forward and seizing the first two in a crushing grip. Charizard evaded, flying to the cavern's ceiling and roaring with alarm.

For the first time the Pokémon Trainer showed fear. His companions. His friends. "Go, Charizard!" he cried, while the Blastoise and Venusaur continued to writhe in pain in the hold of the monstrosity.

Before the fire pokémon could reach the other two the Hand gave another laugh, and they were suddenly engulfed in a bright light that the Trainer had come to associate with evolution. But that was impossible! They were fully evolved!

...But no longer. Just as the Charizard reached the Hand to give a devastating blow, the other two pokémon were dropped to the platform. A Squirtle and an Ivysaur lay helplessly on the rock floor. The Pokémon Trainer was stunned, and recalled them.

The Hand and the Charizard continued to battle. While his pokémon was fighting its best, the Pokémon Trainer could tell it was a hard battle. The hand seemed capable of terrifying attacks, shooting lasers from its fingertips and rocketing around fast enough to cause tremors in the cavern.

He clenched his teeth, feeling utterly ineffectual as the fire pokémon fought for its life. His ferocious Charizard, who had won the Pokémon Trainer countless battles, even against gym leaders. The Charmander bestowed upon him by a foolish boy on the verge of abandoning it in the wild because he'd believed it weak. "Return," he cried, forcing the angry pokémon back into its pokéball. He needed a fresh start, a new strategy. "Go, Squirtle!"

The water pokémon appeared as he launched its ball, but the Pokémon Trainer was horrified to realize that there were already signs of damage on the pokémon even though it had not battled yet.

_"It's only fair,"_ the Hand admonished with its contemptible laugh. _"None of the others get to start over."_

The Pokémon Trainer had no idea what the Hand was referring to, but he concluded that somehow his pokémon were being forced to share each other's damage and pain. The thought infuriated him.

Despite its diminished size and strength, the Squirtle was still powerful. The Trainer directed its attacks with practiced efficiency. A particularly powerful Waterfall attack seemed to put the Hand on the verge of defeat, but then the monstrosity showered some kind of missile from one of its fingers. The water pokémon was slammed against the rock walls with a cry that made the Pokémon Trainer's stomach clench. In his mind's eye, he saw his poor Squirtle, the pokémon thrust away as a lost cause by a hassled police officer, which had grown into a loyal and immensely powerful asset to his team. "Return!

"Go, Ivysaur!" Perhaps it was a futile gesture, but the Pokémon Trainer couldn't stand to see the water pokémon battered around any longer. But how would the plant type do better?

Ivysaur was already bruised and battered at the start of its fighting, but it launched its attacks with as much vigor as its predecessors. It seemed to the Pokémon Trainer that the battle was nearly won. He watched and commanded the pokémon with pride. This was the frail, barely healed Bulbasaur he'd received from the tender woman in Cerulean City. A final vine whip attack—they were so close, he could sense it—

After the last blow, the Hand began to writhe in pain and a dark lightning filled the cavern in the depths of Mt. Silver. Elated with the realization of victory, the Pokémon Trainer clenched his hand into a fist and pumped it into the air. They had won. His companions, whom the Trainer knew would lay down their lives for him.

_"You are certainly worthy,"_ said the Hand, and the Pokémon Trainer realized, horrified, that it had stopped contorting itself in pain and now floated gracefully as it had before. Would he be forced into another pokémon battle? Desperate, he reached for his strongest, his Pikachu, only to give a sharp cry to find the precious pokéball missing, along with his Espeon and Snorlax. Where were they?

_"You will only need those,"_ said the Hand, pointing at the Trainer's belt, where the pokéballs of the Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard now sat quite alone. He glanced up quickly at the Hand with an accusing glare. Where were the rest of his pokémon?

The tremors in the cavern were growing stronger. The Hand began to laugh, and laugh, and the Pokémon Trainer found himself unable to move his arms and legs. The Ivysaur gazed at him and cried out plaintively, but was forced into its pokéball even though the Trainer was not the cause. A strong wind picked up and abruptly Mt. Silver was gone entirely. It was simply He and the Hand and the swirling vortex. The Pokémon Trainer screamed, once, as he realized that he no longer had any semblance of control in the situation.

Then the Hand seized him and they were gone.

_"Now, be a good boy and go help Lucas. This will be immensely entertaining."_

**end.**


End file.
